World War II vet finds affirmation in medal received 68 years after service

World War II veteran Howard Douglas, 96, has finally received a Bronze Star for his military service, 68 years after he finished serving, shown at his son's home, Thursday, November 15, 2012 in Gainesville, Fla.

Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 12:02 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 12:02 p.m.

Howard Douglas remembers the noise the shells made as they sailed over him, day and night, while he kept watch for signs of Benito Mussolini's Italian army.

The shells frightened him, he said, when he first arrived in Italy in the 1940s, a member of an all-black U.S. Army infantry unit during World War II. They were so loud he thought they had landed next to him.

“We kept our hands on our rifles day and night,” he said.

It rained every day. The U.S. sent ponchos, but Douglas kept the barrel of his gun sticking out of the rainproof garment and pointing toward the enemy at all times.

He returned to the U.S. at 30 years old, having entered the Army in 1941 at 25, while studying at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. But he returned as an engineer because he'd been reclassified after his combat service in Italy, and he didn't receive the Bronze Star Medal as had many other American soldiers.

It took 68 years, but he finally received the Bronze Star -- awarded for acts of merit within a combat zone -- this month on Veterans Day at the age of 96.

Rosemary Larry, an Arlington, Va., lawyer who has known Douglas since she was a child, began searching for proof of his combat service in 2007 after a few of his family members hit a dead end in their research. Most of his records were destroyed in the 1970s in a fire, and she searched the National Archives extensively.

“Part of the challenge for me was taking what he provided and finding corroborating evidence in the public domain,” she said.

She found a pivotal document listing Douglas as a recipient of the Combat Infantryman Badge in the 1940s.

“I didn't even know I had a Bronze Star coming,” he said. “They never told me.”

Larry is representing Douglas as his attorney and working to secure any benefits he is eligible for as a veteran who served in combat.

Douglas served in the Italian campaigns of 1944 and 1945, fighting German soldiers and Mussolini's men at what is known historically as the “Gothic Line” in northern Italy.

“They was killing us, and we was killing them,” he said. “We wanted to eliminate them.”

He was a member of the Army's 366th Infantry Regiment, one of the first and final American units composed completely of black officers and black enlisted soldiers.

After he returned from war, the Florida-born man spent years working and, later on, raising six children and a stepdaughter in Gainesville with his wife, Buelah, said Rebecca Douglas, his daughter-in-law.

He worked at the University of Florida for more than a decade, spending much of that time with the grounds department. He also worked in housekeeping at the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Gainesville, a job from which he later retired.

Although the recognition came nearly seven decades late, Douglas said she was glad the war stories her father-in-law had told his family for years have now been officially honored.

“It has been extraordinary, powerful and amazing to see the happiness it brought to him,” she said. “Just being able to get heard finally.”

Douglas said he appreciated receiving the Bronze Star and other military medals due him but remains saddened it took so long.

“But you know, I read my Bible. God says … you can hide something, but one day it'll be brought to light,” said Douglas, who for more than 50 years has attended services at a local United Methodist Church. “And I'm glad it was brought to light before I died.”

Although Douglas remembered the fear he felt as shells landed nearby in Italy, he laughed easily as he recalled his Army training before he was shipped overseas.

He completed basic training in South Carolina, where they ran drills on a clay hill.

“It was so hot you could see figures in the air, and every time you put your foot down clay flew as high as your head,” he said.

He still remembers a few of the songs they'd sing as they marched.

“You son of a gun, you'll never get rich, you're in the Army now,” he chanted, stomping his feet in time with the beat.

He laughed as he thought of a colonel in his unit -- a big man with skinny little legs nicknamed Bootsy, although he can't recall the spelling.

After a nearly seven-decade delay, Douglas has been recognized for his role in World War II -- something his family has known for decades from his war stories. Stories that, according to official record before proof of his combat service was uncovered, he shouldn't have had to tell.

The Bronze Star pinned to his jacket on Veterans Day told a different story -- one Douglas has been telling all along.

<p>Howard Douglas remembers the noise the shells made as they sailed over him, day and night, while he kept watch for signs of Benito Mussolini's Italian army.</p><p>The shells frightened him, he said, when he first arrived in Italy in the 1940s, a member of an all-black U.S. Army infantry unit during World War II. They were so loud he thought they had landed next to him.</p><p>“We kept our hands on our rifles day and night,” he said.</p><p>It rained every day. The U.S. sent ponchos, but Douglas kept the barrel of his gun sticking out of the rainproof garment and pointing toward the enemy at all times.</p><p>He returned to the U.S. at 30 years old, having entered the Army in 1941 at 25, while studying at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. But he returned as an engineer because he'd been reclassified after his combat service in Italy, and he didn't receive the Bronze Star Medal as had many other American soldiers.</p><p>It took 68 years, but he finally received the Bronze Star -- awarded for acts of merit within a combat zone -- this month on Veterans Day at the age of 96.</p><p>Rosemary Larry, an Arlington, Va., lawyer who has known Douglas since she was a child, began searching for proof of his combat service in 2007 after a few of his family members hit a dead end in their research. Most of his records were destroyed in the 1970s in a fire, and she searched the National Archives extensively.</p><p>“Part of the challenge for me was taking what he provided and finding corroborating evidence in the public domain,” she said.</p><p>She found a pivotal document listing Douglas as a recipient of the Combat Infantryman Badge in the 1940s.</p><p>“I didn't even know I had a Bronze Star coming,” he said. “They never told me.”</p><p>Larry is representing Douglas as his attorney and working to secure any benefits he is eligible for as a veteran who served in combat.</p><p>Douglas served in the Italian campaigns of 1944 and 1945, fighting German soldiers and Mussolini's men at what is known historically as the “Gothic Line” in northern Italy.</p><p>“They was killing us, and we was killing them,” he said. “We wanted to eliminate them.”</p><p>He was a member of the Army's 366th Infantry Regiment, one of the first and final American units composed completely of black officers and black enlisted soldiers.</p><p>After he returned from war, the Florida-born man spent years working and, later on, raising six children and a stepdaughter in Gainesville with his wife, Buelah, said Rebecca Douglas, his daughter-in-law.</p><p>He worked at the University of Florida for more than a decade, spending much of that time with the grounds department. He also worked in housekeeping at the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Gainesville, a job from which he later retired.</p><p>Although the recognition came nearly seven decades late, Douglas said she was glad the war stories her father-in-law had told his family for years have now been officially honored.</p><p>“It has been extraordinary, powerful and amazing to see the happiness it brought to him,” she said. “Just being able to get heard finally.”</p><p>Douglas said he appreciated receiving the Bronze Star and other military medals due him but remains saddened it took so long.</p><p>“But you know, I read my Bible. God says … you can hide something, but one day it'll be brought to light,” said Douglas, who for more than 50 years has attended services at a local United Methodist Church. “And I'm glad it was brought to light before I died.”</p><p>Although Douglas remembered the fear he felt as shells landed nearby in Italy, he laughed easily as he recalled his Army training before he was shipped overseas.</p><p>He completed basic training in South Carolina, where they ran drills on a clay hill.</p><p>“It was so hot you could see figures in the air, and every time you put your foot down clay flew as high as your head,” he said.</p><p>He still remembers a few of the songs they'd sing as they marched.</p><p>“You son of a gun, you'll never get rich, you're in the Army now,” he chanted, stomping his feet in time with the beat.</p><p>He laughed as he thought of a colonel in his unit -- a big man with skinny little legs nicknamed Bootsy, although he can't recall the spelling.</p><p>After a nearly seven-decade delay, Douglas has been recognized for his role in World War II -- something his family has known for decades from his war stories. Stories that, according to official record before proof of his combat service was uncovered, he shouldn't have had to tell.</p><p>The Bronze Star pinned to his jacket on Veterans Day told a different story -- one Douglas has been telling all along.</p><p><hr/></p><p><i>Contact Morgan Watkins at 352-338-3104 or morgan.watkins@gvillesun.com.</i></p>